Optimist Youth Football says it has replaced hundreds of helmets after a KTVB report on football helmet ratings and concussions.

In original stories that aired in February, local high school coaches, trainers and sporting goods dealers talked about a Virginia Tech study that indicates certain football helmets may cut concussion risks.

A lineman who plays in high school, college and the pros may retire with 10,0000 sub-concussive hits, none of which were diagnosed, none of which he is aware of. The aggregate of these hits produce brain damage much more severe than being knocked out three times.

Prominent neurologists and researchers like Robert Cantu, Julian Bailes, Kevin Guskiewicz, Kristen Willeumier and David Hovda report that three or more concussions may lead to exponentially higher rates of Alzheimer’s, ALS, dementia, chronic traumatic encephalopathy and depression. This is different from other injuries. Brain function provides memory, judgment, and personality — what it means to be a sentient human being. That is why we are forming a new foundation, “Athletes Speak,” with players advocating awareness and prevention.

The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) applauds and encourages the growing research in the area of concussion protection for athletes, including the work released this month by Virginia Tech. Coaches, consumers and parents should be aware that while the STAR rating system suggests the purchase of specific football helmets, scientific evidence does not support the claim that a particular helmet brand or model is more effective in reducing the occurrence of concussive events.

Brain injuries in youth sports have been on the rise in recent years, alarming many parents about the lifelong effects of concussions. The number of brain injuries linked to American youth increased 62 percent between the years of 2001 and 2009, with reported incidents around 250,000 in 2009 (Obama, NFL, NCAA Get Behind Research into Concussions in Youth Sports: Insurance Journal, May 29, 2014).

The nation’s largest doctors’ group adopted that as policy this week at its annual meeting in Chicago. AMA members say cheerleading is as rigorous as many other activities that high schools and the NCAA consider sports. Adding it to the list would mean more safety measures for cheerleaders and proper training for their coaches.

Cheerleading is a leading cause of catastrophic injury in female athletes at the high school and college level, Dr. Samantha Rosman, a Boston-area pediatrician, told AMA delegates during floor debate before the vote.

“These girls are flipping 10, 20 feet in the air,” Rosman said. “We need to stand up for what is right for our patients and demand they get the same protection as their football colleagues.”

Matanzas junior Bailee Hurd sat out two varsity lacrosse games in 2014, sidelined with a concussion she suffered during a chippy midseason contest against Buchholz. Flagler Palm Coast coach James Hackett says he hasn’t witnessed a player sustain a concussion in his three years at the Bulldogs’ helm.

Both are against the June 10 FHSAA ruling mandating the wearing of helmets in girls lacrosse starting in 2015. The decision was made after the Board weighed sport-specific injury data provided by Orange County, public testimony and a presentation by US Lacrosse, a national body that governs the sport at the preps level, FHSAA spokesperson Corey Sobers said.

Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino yesterday said he will withdraw from a lawsuit that accuses the National Football League of hiding the effects of concussions because he was inadvertently listed as a plaintiff in the case.

Marino, 52, who was the highest-profile former player involved in legal action against the league over head injuries, said in a statement issued to Sports Illustrated magazine that in the past year he authorized a legal claim to be made on his behalf if he ever needed medical coverage due to the long-term effects of football-related head trauma.

As President Barack Obama held a summit on the dangers of concussions, particularly in youth sports, a Pennsylvania school made the momentous decision to ban heading by its young soccer players.

In coordination with leading experts in the field, Bryn Mawr (Pa.) Shipley School administrators made the decision to outlaw a practice that has long been a staple of the most popular sport in the world, citing an increased amount of evidence that shows repeated heading of a soccer ball can cause lasting effects.